Good Intentions
by Lady Henrietta
Summary: BSG Season 3: Something is depressing Adama. Roslin wants to cheer him up, but things go awry, and 'no good deed goes unpunished.' AR
1. Best laid plans

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. Set after the episode, "The Woman, King."

Good Intentions

Part 1/4: Best laid plans

President Roslin had just finished a meeting with the press, along with Tom Zarek regarding several issues for the colonists and their ability to get along with everyone from the various planets. She sank down in her chair and sighed, glad to finally be alone. However, after a few gulps of tea, she watched as Tory walked into her office.

"Madame President, the admiral wants to see you. I reminded him that you don't meet him for another fifteen minutes, but he insisted," the younger woman remarked.

Roslin noted her aide's irritation about the schedule interruption. _Tory, one of these days I will teach you the necessary art of being flexible_. "It's fine. Please send him in."

Admiral Adama entered as Tory left the room. Roslin watched as he sighed and walked slowly over to her desk. She stood and eyed him with concern as he spoke. "Madame President, I know our meeting isn't for another fifteen minutes, but I needed some time to relax," he explained cryptically.

She reached out and touched his shoulder. "Bill, frak the meeting. It wasn't that important today anyway. What's wrong?"

He let a ghost of a smile slip through at her concern. "It's really not a big deal. I'm just grumbling over a few things."

"Bad day?" she implored, inviting him to sit.

"I'll say," he stated gruffly.

His elbow rested against the armrest of the chair, his stare fixating on the desk. She had seen that look once before, the painfully defeated expression. The last time she had seen it, he had tried to resign and claimed to have instigated the Cylons' attack. "For Kobol's sake Bill, talk to me," she urged, seating herself in the chair next to his.

Finally he looked her in the eyes, removing his glasses. Taking a deep breath, he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I suppose I should be grateful that at least the Cylons left us alone today. We've got a few bad fuses that we've been trying to replace in our navigation system. Every time we try a new one though, we find some other problem. We're running out of fuses though. Two of the petty officers haven't been handling the algae well and they ended up making a mess on the upper deck of CIC."

"You were able to find someone to clean it up, right?" she inquired.

"Yes, but CIC still smells like a pond at the moment," he paused to finger his jaw and she noticed a purple bruise near his left ear. "There was a fight in the engineering sector too. I had to go and break it up myself. Too bad one of them wasn't looking at who had grabbed his wrist. They'll all be in the brig for a while. Coming back from the brig I ran into Zarek," he mentioned. She winced, remembering a discussion she had shared with the Sagittarian earlier that morning.

Adama noticed it. "Apparently you gave him the runaround on something and he took it upon himself to harass me about it. Seems that his people are tired of being quarantined. I tried to tell him that it has to be that way for the health of the other colonists. He tells me I'm being prejudiced and threatens to go to the press. If that man wasn't so damned popular, I'd recommend that you throw him out an airlock along with Baltar," the admiral expressed.

She rested her hand gently on his knee. "Bill, I'm so sorry about that. He came to me, demanding the same thing. I told him what you did, but he didn't feel like crossing me further. I had no idea that he would come after you. I'll speak to the Quorum about whom they are supposed to see for certain things."

He patted her hand and left his on top of hers. "After dealing with him, I stopped by here to gain some sanity," he relayed.

Giving him a sympathetic smile, she placed her other hand on top of his and squeezed it. Then she removed both hands and disappeared behind her desk. After digging around in a drawer for a while, she had found a crystal bottle with a label that did not match its contents, along with two small glasses.

"I think you could use a drink," she stated, pouring them each a little of the amber liquid.

He reached over and smiled slightly as he accepted the glass. "Thanks. It looks like the stuff from New Caprica. How did you get a bottle of that?" he asked.

"I have my ways," she answered with a smirk. Looking him directly in the eyes again, she realized something else. "Despite how bad your day's been, that's not what's really bothering you, is it?"

"Let it rest, Laura. There are some things I don't need to bother you with, and this is one of them," he told her frankly as he swirled the liquid around his glass and took a gulp.

She huffed and looked at him over the top of her glasses. "Whatever you're dealing with had better damn well take a back seat because it's not doing you any good to worry about it," she pointed out.

"You're probably right, but I can't see a way out of it at the moment," he remarked in that defeated tone.

Taking a gulp of her own drink, she thought for a moment. The she set her glass down on her desk, crossed her right knee over her left, draped her left arm over her lap, and let her chin rest on her right fist as the corresponding elbow balanced on her right knee. "I can accept that you're not gonna tell me what's bothering you this time, but I'm not gonna let you sit here and drown in your own puddle of self-pity. Neither one of us has that kind of time," she paused and sat up, resting her right hand on his knee again.

He watched her for she was not sure how long, as if trying to see if she was sincere. Then he sighed, took another drink, and nodded. "I'm glad I stopped by. You give me a good ass-kicking when I need it."

She chuckled softly. "Glad to be of service."

"I shouldn't have bothered you with my mess. Lords know you've got enough problems of your own," he commented.

Shaking her head, she smiled back at him. "I'm your friend. If we can't talk to each other, that leaves us both with basically the wall," she remarked.

A smirk appeared on his face. "Unless you've got an invisible friend like Baltar and that blonde Cylon."

She snorted. "I think we'd both be a in a lot of trouble if that happened."

He nodded and stood. "I should go. You probably have- frak, we have a meeting, don't we?"

Putting up her hands in a dismissive gesture she shook her head. "Neither one of us remembers what it was supposed to be about, so we can either try again later when one of us remembers, or wait until tomorrow," she suggested rationally before standing.

Folding his hands, he thought for a moment. "That's probably a good idea."

They walked to the door, each mulling over their own thoughts. He suddenly stopped and turned to face her. "Thank you," he conveyed quietly. He was not facing her directly and she could see his nervousness as he fiddled with his wedding ring.

Deciding to spare him any more awkwardness, she gently grasped his forearm so that he faced her. It was a gesture she had used before, but this time the intent was different. She grinned in a way that reminded him of New Caprica, of the fiery spirit he knew her to be capable of. Then she leaned forward and her lips brushed his briefly. Briefly had been her intent, but she stayed where she was for a moment longer.

When she pulled back, she fought against herself not to laugh at the bewildered expression on his face. "You're welcome," she whispered with a smile.

Tory's sudden presence seemed to draw him out of his perplexed state as the aide cleared her throat. He gave Roslin a warm smile and then he was gone. She ran a hand through her hair and went back to her desk. Later that afternoon, Commander Lee Adama stopped by to give the president an update on the Sagittarian situation.

After they had finished speaking about the quarantine matter, she stood. "Was there something else, Ma'am?" he asked.

She nodded. "The admiral stopped by here earlier. Apparently he'd had a particularly bad day. He was depressed about something else though. Do you have any idea what's been bothering your father?" she questioned.

The younger man was tempted to tell her that it was not really her problem, but he had noticed over the last couple of months how close the admiral and the president appeared to have become. "His sixtieth birthday is the day after tomorrow and he's feeling old."

Raising an eyebrow, she eyed him thoughtfully. "That I was unaware of, but even sixty isn't so old."

"He's worried that it will take several more years before we're all safe, and that the time will come when he's physically incapable of commanding _Galactica_, of protecting the people," Lee explained.

Roslin sighed and shook her head. "He's thinking too hard again. It sounds like he needs something to cheer him up and remind him that what happens now is where his mind needs to be."

"What would you suggest?" the commander probed.

She paced the distance between the back wall and her desk before her head suddenly shot up. "Why don't we give him a birthday party?"

Lee adamantly shook his head. "I don't think he'd approve."

That familiar mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. "Then we'll throw him a surprise party," she stated rationally.

"Ma'am, Laura, maybe we should just let him deal with it himself. He really isn't fond of his birthday," the younger man tried to point out.

She leaned on the desk with her fingers spread out and faced him. "Lee, I don't get many opportunities to do nice things for your father. Help me with this one thing, please?" she requested.

He realized that she was looking at him as a mother would look at a good son, a son that would do what she asked, even if it defied his own ideas. Sighing, he resigned himself. "Alright."


	2. Need a map?

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Part 2/4: Need a map?

Tigh, Lee, Kara, and Tory were assembled in Roslin's office the following day. "Do you all know what to do?" the president inquired.

"Looking forward to the refreshments, ma'am," Kara mentioned with a smirk.

"Keepin' the Old Man distracted shouldn't be too hard. Let's just hope that the Cylons don't get the same idea," Tigh remarked.

"I've got the guest list," Tory began.

"And I've already said that I'll handle the rest. You're all dismissed," Roslin stated. Only Lee and Tory lingered.

The aide seemed unusually quite. "Is there something wrong, Tory?" the president asked with maternal concern.

Tory shook her head. "No, everything is fine. It's just… could we add Lieutenant Gaeta to the list? I mean, it would help to ensure his secrecy in CIC and-"

"I don't see why not. If you want to bring him, then go ahead," Roslin told her with a smile.

As she left to attend to other paperwork, Lee took the younger woman's place standing in front of Roslin. "So you're planning to search for decorations?" he inquired.

"I'll try. I'm also going to find something else to eat. Algae cake sounds genuinely unappetizing," Roslin replied.

He started to leave, but turned back. "Ma'am, one more thing if you don't mind," he paused and she nodded. "We should have a code for when you call CIC later to tell him that you've postponed your meeting. One message saying that everything is ready, or another saying that you need a little more time."

"That sounds like a good idea, Lee. What would you suggest?" she asked, folding her hands in front of her on the desk.

The young commander thought for a moment before facing her again. "Joke that the food could be better if things are going smoothly. If you need more time, say that your shower doesn't work."

"I think that will work," she relayed.

On the day of the party, her morning had been hectic with three press conferences. She wore a maroon dress suit over a cream blouse that a small microphone neatly clipped onto. The press had drilled her about upcoming plans and further ideas on the algae-only diet. She finally made her way back to _Colonial One_ long enough to relax. She passed through the all-too-familiar doorway, but then stopped.

Recalling the hostesses that handed out small snacks when the shuttle was on its way to _Galactica_ all those months ago, Roslin began to pull out and inspect some of the panels that had been previously ignored. After a few minutes, she found what she was looking for. The drawer contained small packets of crackers, peanuts, and wrapped chocolates. She unwrapped a piece of chocolate and tried it to see that it was edible.

"Even after a few years, some things don't go bad," she said aloud. Deciding to use the chocolate for the party, she called Tory over and had the aide deliver the crackers and peanuts over to the pilots in the hanger.

After sneaking over to the admiral's quarters to set up a few things, she realized that she still wanted to find decorations. She hurried back to _Colonial One_, but had no luck. Soon it was time to call Lee. The phone rang in CIC and Lee, Tigh, Adama, and Gaeta, all ended up listening to it.

"Admiral, I'm a bit overbooked and I have to postpone our meeting today for this afternoon. Is that alright?"

"Of course," he responded. "Is everything alright?"

Roslin swallowed, trying to remember what Lee had told her. "I'm just busy. And your shower doesn't work." Tigh and Gaeta snickered at the implications, not knowing about her conversation with the commander. Lee sighed and shook his head.

Adama raised an eyebrow and stared at the phone for a moment before going back to it. "Madame President, could you repeat that last part? I don't think I heard you correctly," the admiral requested.

She faltered on her end for a moment. "I'm sorry, never mind," she stated quickly before hanging up.

The admiral shook his head and hung up his end, looking at the phone incredulously. "If it wasn't the president, I'd say that was a prank call."

Adama was walking to his quarters from CIC later that afternoon when he heard an interesting monologue as he neared a storage room: "Oh! Now why would they put that there? Ouch! Stupid shoes! How in the world is anyone supposed to- ouch. Whoever arranged this should be thrown out an airlock!"

Chuckling, he decided to spare the room's occupant further frustration after looking from side to side to see that the hallway was empty. "Madame President, you sound like you could use some help," he remarked before stepping inside.

She quickly stood up from having been bent over examining the contents of a crate in the dim light of the one starry window. "That's alright, Admiral. I'm perfectly capable of making a mess myself."

"I can see that," he paused and closed the door. "The first thing we need to find is a light switch."

Sighing, she walked over to him, stepping over a few more boxes. "That's why I had the door open. Apparently there isn't one in here."

He glanced up at the ceiling and stepped toward the middle of the room where a lonely light-bulb hung. "I think I understand now. This light used to have a cord. It's useless without it though."

Walking back over to the door, he attempted to open it. "I guess this really is the only light source to use." As he tried the door though, he realized with an uncomfortable warm feeling in the pit of his stomach that it would have been a much better idea to keep the door open. "Laura, I think we're locked in," he admitted.

She rushed toward him and tripped over a box that made a dull thud as if it was full of books. Fortunately he caught her before she could fall and quickly stood her up. She gave him a quick nod and straightened her skirt. Then she walked over to the door and tried to open it herself. Glaring at it, she kicked and pounded on it for a while before conceding that no one was around to hear them at that time.

Sighing heavily, she leaned against a clear space on the wall. "I'm so sorry, Bill. Every time I try to do something nice for you, it backfires."

Even in the pale light from the star-lit window, Adama could see how upset she was. "Wasn't your fault that the door locked itself," he pointed out, joining her on the wall, wondering what she had meant.

"But it's my fault that you're stuck in here with me. This is worse than when I wanted to give you a medal," she complained.

"Laura," he paused and gently brushed her cheek with his hand so that she faced him. "That wasn't your fault either. What were you looking for in here?"

"I was hoping to find some decorations," she began as she moved to stand in front of the window and crossed her arms.

He raised an eyebrow. "Decorations? For what?"

"For… well what I mean is… oh frak it all, I might as well just tell you anyway. I was trying to organize a surprise party for you because you seemed so depressed about your birthday, but as usual, it backfired. Now instead of walking into your quarters to enjoy it, you're stuck here in this closet," she explained as she tried to pace, stepping around a few boxes.

He put a hand on her shoulder to slow her down. "Wait, you wanted to throw me a surprise party?"

She sniffed, having let a few tears slip through her guard. "Yes, and I managed to batch it up. We're stuck here in this closet and nobody will ever find us because this is the last place they would look. And the press, if the press finds us in here, it'll be a disaster."

Cupping her face in his hands, he wiped her tears away. "That's one of the nicest things anyone's ever tried to do for me. I don't give a damn about the press right now and if I have to be stuck anywhere, I'm glad that I'm stuck with you," he told her with a wry grin.

A sudden feeling of happiness washed over her and she could not contain her laughter. He chuckled with her at the sheer absurdity of their situation and then enveloped her in a hug. "One of these days, I will try not to get you into trouble, especially in CIC. It was a code Lee told me to use and I mixed up a few words," she admitted as they slowly separated, but did not release each other.

"At least I have an answer to that now. You wouldn't believe the look that Saul gave me. Next time you call CIC, no matter what it is you should make sure the line is secure. It'll be a while before he lets me live that one down," Adama mentioned.

"It could be a while before we get out of here," she reminded.

She could not see the mischief in his eyes, but she heard it in his voice. "Then we'll just have to find a way to keep ourselves occupied."

"What do you recommend?" she challenged.

He thought for a moment, caressing her cheek with one of his hands. "Ever played 'spin the bottle?'"

She giggled and eyed him incredulously. "Though that is a party game, the one thing I haven't found in here aside from decorations would be bottles," she pointed out.

"Then we'll just have to skip the spinning part," he remarked before closing the distance between them with a tender kiss.

For a while they stood, sharing quick gentle kisses, as if playing a game of sorts, testing new waters. Then the kisses warmed and became longer. Affectionate kisses turned to sound kisses as they pulled closer to each other, his hand still on her cheek while his other arm wrapped around her waist, her hands creeping up his chest to link behind his neck.

He was about to slide her jacket off when they heard the clunk of the door unlocking. Instantly they drew apart and composed themselves before Tigh opened the door. They stepped out quickly and Roslin noted that fortunately the press was not around. "How did you find us?" she asked the colonel and the two security officers as her eyes adjusted to the light.

"Your aide said you went missing. We decided to look for you and your microphone was giving off an electrical signal," he explained frankly.

Her eyes widened. "My micro-" she paused and looked down at her blouse, noticing the clip-on miniature microphone that she had been using earlier that day. "I completely forgot about it. You didn't happen to hear anything on it, did you?"

Tigh shook his head. "No ma'am. We only picked up the signal."

Adama cleared his throat. "Yes well, I should really be getting back to CIC, and you have some other business to attend to, Madame President?"

"Yes, Admiral, I do," as she said this, she noticed that some of her lipstick had migrated to his lips. She smirked and caught his eye as she moved her finger across her lips twice. He raised an eyebrow but then realized what she was doing and wiped his face. She gave him one short not to let him know that it was clean now.

Roslin walked off while Tigh turned toward Adama. "First you let her use your shower, then you both end up locked in a storage room. Maybe you should just take her out on a date before you two end up stranded in a raptor," the colonel goaded him.

The admiral chuckled. "I suppose it wouldn't do me any good to try to tell you there's nothing going on between us."

"Nope," Tigh responded.

They talked for a while longer before heading for Adama's quarters. He knew to expect a surprise party, but was planning to act surprised anyway. His mind was not on the party though, but on the woman who had planned it and a secretive grin spread over his face.

(My thanks to carolann, banana53080, Ethereal-Journey, Mariel3, asouldreams, and csiAngel for reviewing :D)


	3. Detour

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. Freezer is mine.

Part 3/4: Detour

Adama opened the door to his quarters and reached for the light switch. Instead of that, his hand brushed someone else's. "I'll handle that, Admiral," said a voice he knew too well.

She moved and stood behind him before gently placing her hands over his eyes. "Move forward," the voice whispered. In truth he would have been happy just to have more time with the woman whose warm breath was on his neck. He followed her directions and stepped farther into the room.

Someone else had flicked the light switch. As Roslin slowly removed her hands, Adama faced Lee, Kara, Dee, Anders, Tigh, Gaeta, and Tory. They all shouted, "Surprise!"

Despite knowing ahead, he was genuinely surprised that they had gone through the trouble to do this for him. "Thank you, everyone," the admiral stated.

Lee shook his head. "We just helped. Laura organized the whole thing. She even found you these," his son held out a bag of small wrapped chocolates that had to have come from _Colonial One_, mixed in with the other traveling snacks that the stewardesses would have handed out to passengers.

He turned to her and watched a delicate blush spread over her cheeks. "Algae cake didn't sound very appetizing," she remarked.

"Then I suppose I owe you a proper thank you," he mentioned as he kissed her on the cheek. "We'll talk later," he whispered before pulling back.

She knew that everyone's eyes were on them and decided to change the subject. "What are we waiting around for? I know some of you brought other things."

Kara held out a bottle of procured clear alcohol that she had been hiding behind her back. "I had this just lying around it seemed like a good time to use it," she commented.

"How the hell did you get your hands on moonshine?" Tigh questioned with a smirk.

She chuckled. "It's my own private stash."

Dee handed Adama a dark blue scrap book. "It's got some good memories in it from our time out here. Check out page seven."

"Thank you," he accepted the book. Curious, he opened it to page seven and found that someone had taken several pictures of him dancing with Roslin on Colonial Day. He raised an eyebrow and looked over at the president. "Did you know about this?"

She put her hands up in defense. "I didn't know what everyone was bringing."

"Too bad nobody's into party games these days. 'Spin the bottle' would've been funny," Kara commented. Roslin and Adama exchanged amused looks and then laughed. The others watched them curiously and shrugged.

Abruptly the klaxons went off and the admiral looked around the room. "If we're all here, who's shift is it?" he questioned.

Tigh looked at Lee, who pointed at Gaeta, who pointed over at Dee, who glanced back to Tigh. "Never mind, let's just go," Adama remarked.

As they left his quarters, Roslin chimed in. "We will finish this later."

They arrived in CIC to find two lieutenants on duty, staring at the viewscreen in panic. Glancing over to see the others, they both sighed in relief. Adama, Tigh, and Roslin moved toward the center. Tory stood next to Gaeta as he looked at his own console. Lee stepped over toward Adama.

"Sir, I'll be needed in the hanger," he mentioned.

"Commander, you and Anders are dismissed then," the admiral relayed before turning toward Kara. "Thrace, you're down here for strategies today."

She watched the other two as they left before facing the admiral. "But sir I-" she stopped, remembering that she was still recovering from the crash on the algae planet. "Coming, sir."

The Cylons had decided to visit the fleet that day and Adama sighed at the irony of the day they had chosen for their visit. Roslin stood next to him on his left and as he leaned on the table, she lightly placed a hand on top of his. "They can't know what day it is," she tried to reassure him.

"Wouldn't surprise me if they did," he responded flatly.

A base star had appeared, leaving the vipers to fight several smaller ships. Adama gave the order for the civilian ships to jump. Kara stood at his right with one hand over her chin in thought. After looking from the table back to the viewscreen, she had an idea. "Sir," she began as she faced the admiral, "I think I see a weak spot. This base star's damaged at the east cannon," she pointed toward the viewscreen. "We need to distract them so that they won't guard it."

He gave her a quick nod. "Good thinking, Captain."

Plans were relayed over to Lee and the others watched as the vipers executed the decoy plan. "Sir, I'm going after the cannon," Lee told the admiral.

"Commander, don't do something just because you're the only one on that side. We're not looking for heroics here," Adama advised.

Roslin noticed his grip on the table tightening as she heard Lee. "I know what I'm doing, sir. Apollo out."

"He never listens," Tigh muttered as the admiral sighed heavily.

"He'll come back, Bill. The two of you are like cats," Roslin whispered.

While a firefight continued on part of the screen, a lone ship sneaked out from the other part, covered by two more vipers. Lee got a few clear shots at the cannon before some Cylon ships turned toward his direction. His ship and four others alternated covering each other and firing on the east end. Before deciding to jump away, the base star hit one of the ships, but the people in CIC had trouble seeing which one it was.

Though he looked unflappable to everyone else, Roslin noticed Adama's sharp intake of breath and the intensity with which he stared at the screen. Then he tried called. "Galactica Actual to Apollo, do you read? Repeat, Galactica Actual to Apollo, do you read?"

The silence lasted only a few seconds, but to Adama it felt like forever. "Apollo to Galactica Actual, we're all fine. Freezer took a hit to his ship though. Permission to dock."

Adama breathed a sigh of relief. "Permission granted," he relayed.

The admiral paused and removed his glasses for a moment before giving the order for the rest of the fleet to follow the colony ships and jump. He, Roslin, and Kara had intended to walk down to the docking bay while Tigh, Gaeta, and Dee stayed to survey the area for a while

However, as Adama headed over to the door, someone on the other side opened it too quickly and it accidentally collided with his head. Roslin instinctively put her hand over her mouth while Kara glared mercilessly at the lieutenant whose shift was about to begin.

Adama put his hand to his nose and found a bit of blood. The lieutenant, realizing what he had done, turned sheet-white. "I'm s-sorry, s-sir. I- I didn't mean to-"

"Lieutenant, we don't have pressurized doors in this part of the ship, so you don't need to use much force next time," the admiral interrupted him dryly.

He headed off to Life Station with Roslin following him while Kara went to the docking bay. Before she left, Adama turned toward her. "Tell Lee that he did good," he mentioned.

At the docking bay, Kara greeted Lee. "Where's Dad? He's probably going to tell me I was being reckless."

"Actually he said you did good," Kara commented. Lee raised an eyebrow and she smiled. "He was planning to head down here, but some new guy in CIC opened the door on him and he might've broken his nose."

"So much for a good birthday," Lee stated sardonically. He and Kara decided to walk to Life Station to check on the admiral.

"You're lucky nothing's broken," Dr. Cottle told Adama as he handed the admiral a pack of ice. "But you're gonna have one hell of a black eye."

He walked off and Roslin sat next to Adama on the bed. She took the ice from him and held it against his face. "I'm sorry things turned out this way," she expressed.

"Are you telling me that the Cylons are your fault now?" he asked with a hint of humor.

She sighed and shook her head. "No, but of all the days to end up here, I'm sorry today couldn't have gone better."

He managed a wry grin. "I can think of a dozen things that could've made it worse, and I seem to remember somebody saying something about resuming a party later."

"I like that idea, especially since it looks like you could use a drink, sir," Kara mentioned as she and Lee entered Life Station.

The younger man looked over at Roslin. "Ma'am, would you mind-"

"Not at all, Lee," she interjected, standing and handing the ice back to Adama.

As she stood by Kara, father and son faced each other. "So the door got you," Lee began.

"So the Cylons didn't get you," his father added.

They watched each other for a moment. Then Adama smiled and Lee smiled back. "One of these days you'll actually listen to me," he goaded his son.

"And one of these days you're gonna understand my thinking," the two chuckled quietly.

"Sit," Adama offered. Lee joined him and he continued. "So you knew about the birthday scheme, despite my reservations."

"It was Laura's idea and she asked for my help," the commander admitted.

"You should've expected that one, but thank you," Adama conveyed. "Now let's get back to that party," he mentioned, sliding off the bed. His son smiled at him, thinking that maybe the birthday party had not been such a bad idea afterall.

(My thanks to csiAngel, asouldreams, carolann, Kiyani, romeoharvey, Mariel3, and Jojo for reviewing :D)


	4. Charting new territory

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Part 4/4: Charting new territory

The same crowd soon gathered again in the admiral's quarters, hoping that the day's mishaps were finished. Dee had figured out how to fry the algae enough so that it crunched like potato chips. Anders brought out a deck of cards and the group began to play. Roslin decided to find the dip for the algae chips and set up snacks as they played.

"Why don't you join us?" Adama invited after the first round.

Roslin smiled and took a seat next to him on the couch. "I suppose it couldn't hurt."

"You do know how to play, right?" he questioned.

She smirked and it was if the look was only for him. "In a manner of speaking," she relayed cryptically.

Later everyone understood her clearly. She had thoroughly beaten everyone. Kara eyed her with a newfound respect. "Wow Ma'am, you're good," the young captain observed as Roslin laughed.

Tigh smirked and glanced over at the admiral. "We should probably ask Bill about that one later."

Roslin blushed scarlet and Adama tried to rescue her. "Actually Saul, you can answer that when you hand her the rest of her winnings."

They chuckled and Kara decided to refill the glasses. The next round in the card game was done taking shots of moonshine. Lee had an idea of what to do after the card game. "Why don't we play charades?"

Everyone looked to the admiral for him to decide. He raised an eyebrow and glanced over at the president. She smirked and gave a small shrug. Adama turned back to the others saying, "Why not?"

They decided to make two teams. Tigh thought the whole business was nonsense and volunteered to keep score. Anders, Kara, Roslin, and Adama were on one team. Dee, Tory, Gaeta, and Lee were on the other. Gaeta gave Kara her phrase to start off with, As a group both teams had decided that the category was activities.

She was trying to show water-skiing while the rest of the team was laughing. "Are you riding two horses while standing on them?" Anders asked.

Laughing too, she shook her head. It looked as though time would run out until Kara decided to try something different. She veered to her left, pulled back, veered again, and fell over. Then she moved her arms in a butterfly stroke and stopped to pretend to yell and shake her fist.

"You're water-skiing!" Roslin exclaimed. Kara nodded and returned to the team.

"How did you figure that?" Adama asked Roslin incredulously.

She chuckled. "Because that's what it looked like when I fell."

Gaeta was up for the other team and was fortunate to receive pyramids. Anders found himself with sky-diving and had little trouble. Tory had to remove her two-inch black heeled shoes to demonstrate tight-rope walking. Adama was given deep-sea fishing. He glanced over at Lee and shook his head.

"You haven't gone yet, you know," the admiral goaded his son.

"Being last is worth it to watch how you do this one," Lee joked.

Adama started by tracing the outline of a sailboat and then tracing the sail with his hands in the air. He brought up the anchor and let it back down. Then he drew a fishing pole. "I think you're fishing, sir," Kara stated. He shook his head.

"Looks like it's something more than that. Maybe he's after something in particular," Ander suggested. The admiral shook his head again.

Roslin thought about what she had perceived as the anchor he drew. "It's deep sea fishing," she stated. He nodded and walked back to the team.

"How are you so good at this game?" he asked her.

The familiar mischievous glint was in her eyes. "I used to teach kindergarten." As she said this everyone laughed.

Dee was next and had to figure out an interesting way to illustrate repairing a raptor. She lied down on the floor and drew a toolbox. Then she drew the ship and began to work on it. Gaeta figured it out though. Finally it was Roslin's turn. She eyed Lee with suspicion as he grinned, walking over to her.

He whispered the phrase and she stared at him as if he had sprouted two heads. Her phrase was the 'Adama maneuver.' "Lee how am I supposed to know that one?" she protested.

The young man shrugged. "Just go with what you think it is," he replied, giving her the non-chalant smile.

She glanced over at Adama with a pleading look in her eyes. "Can I at least have an assistant with this one?"

Lee shook his head. "Nope, just try it."

Sighing resolutely, she pretended to slide gloves over her hands. She looked at Adama and pointed at him, and then back to herself. Then she traced a big square. She also drew a person in front of her and made a swirling gesture with one hand to indicate that the person was not facing her. She drew a small circle in the air and made a small motion of striking it. Then she made another swirling motion to indicate that the character turned around. Next she struck the air hard with her left fist and took a step back, as if watching someone fall.

The admiral turned toward his son. "Is that me boxing? Lee, what in Kobol's name did you tell her?"

Lee laughed before answering. "I told her to use the 'Adama maneuver.' I wanted to see what she would do."

Roslin crossed her arms and walked back to her team. "It's not a boxing move?"

"No, it's a flying maneuver," Lee explained.

"I think someone's had too much to drink," Kara teased.

"It happens to be your turn too," Roslin added with a smirk.

She whispered something into Lee's ear and his eyes widened. "I don't know about that, Ma'am."

"Let's see what you do," she responded, sitting next to Adama.

Lee swallowed hard. He folded his arms and placed his thumbs at his shoulders before stalking around the room, acting like a chicken. Everyone laughed and Adama turned to Roslin. "What was that supposed to be?"

"Chicken herding," she answered rationally. He looked at her incredulously. "What? You've never heard of chicken herding?"

As the game drew to its close, Anders left with Kara because they had early shifts the next morning. More drinks were poured and the remaining guests joked a bit. While the others could hold their alcohol fairly well, Tory was beginning to stagger.

"Madam Prressssident, if you had a parrrty once a weeeek, yourrrr rrratings would soar," though articulate, her speech was slurred. Then she turned to Gaeta and rested a hand on his shoulder as she tried to stand up. "Felix, thisss is the besht party I've been too in yearrrrshs."

Roslin watched her aide sympathetically. "It's getting late. I should probably take her back," she began.

She started to stand, but Adama rested a hand on her knee to stop her. "She'll be fine. Lieutenant Gaeta, would you mind escorting the president's aide back to Colonial One?"

"I'll get right on it, sir," the younger man responded as he stood and walked over to Tory. Catching her by the waist, he stated, "I think it's bedtime for you, Tory." With one arm around her waist and one hand holding one of hers, he managed to walk her out of the admiral's quarters.

Dee looked over at her husband as she yawned. "It is getting late. I'm going to turn in too," she relayed. Then she faced the admiral. "Happy Birthday, sir."

"Thank you, Dee," he replied as she left.

The remaining four played one more round of cards before Lee stood too. "I'm too tired to keep my eyes open. If I stay any longer, I'll have to ask one of you to read my cards for me. Night Dad, and Happy Birthday."

Adama walked his son to the door. "Thanks for today," he relayed. The two paused for a moment and then hugged.

Roslin smiled at the admiral when he returned. "It's been an interesting day," she mentioned.

He and Tigh chuckled. "That's an understatement, but there are worse ways that this day could've ended, and for that I'm grateful."

She lifted her glass. "Then gentlemen, I have a toast. To surprises, may the adventure end well."

The glasses clinked and they all took a drink. "I've got a better one," the admiral paused and looked directly at Roslin. "To new adventures, that they take us someplace better than where we've been, and that we have good friends to travel with to make the journey enjoyable." She blushed before the glasses touched again.

"Should've done this earlier when we had the group here," Tigh said as he took a drink and stood. "I'll leave you two alone for the evening. You two don't want a chaperone," he goaded them. "Happy Birthday, Bill."

Adama and Roslin stood, walking Tigh to the door. "Thank you, Saul. It was good having you here too."

"Nah, three's company," the colonel stated. He grinned wryly as he turned to leave. "Take my advice, Bill."

"I'll think about it," the admiral replied.

After Tigh had left, Roslin took off her jacket and began cleaning up the algae chips and general trash that comes from most parties. "What did the colonel mean?" she asked Adama as he joined her.

"When you walked off after we were locked in the storage room, he told me I should take you on a date before we end up 'stranded in a raptor,'" Adama admitted. Roslin giggled in the way that he could listen to all day.

"This is all because of CIC, isn't it?" she paused as he nodded. "The way I see it, we could handle this two ways. We could ardently deny anything or," she grinned with mischief, "we could play with his mind a bit and I could call you with a very interesting message."

Adama chuckled, imagining what Tigh would start telling him then. "You'd probably end up making things worse for me over there. As it is, it'll take a while to live today down."

When they had cleaned up everything, they returned to the couch. He held her hands in his, rubbing small circles in them. "Seeing the condition your aide left in, I don't think she would notice if you didn't come back until tomorrow morning," he mentioned with a smirk.

She grinned back. "You're probably right. Are you suggesting some sort of slumber party?"

Instead of laughing as she had expected him to, he leaned forward and captured her lips in a tender kiss. His hands slid to grasp her forearms as hers did the same. Somehow his arms moved to encircle her waist and she found herself sitting on his lap as they continued to kiss, her hands having found their way to his chest.

They broke to breathe and rested their foreheads together. "I should probably take you on a date before saying this," he began as he rubbed her back, "but I'd prefer to say it now. I love you, I have for a while. I just couldn't say anything because you're the president."

She smirked and kissed him lightly. "You shouldn't have let that stop you. I love you too. You seemed so closed. I was waiting for you to open a door somewhere. I suppose I found one a few days ago and left my foot in it," she told him wryly.

He chuckled and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. One of his hands got lost in her hair. She moaned when he deepened the kiss. When they parted again, she looked directly into his eyes. "Is it alright if we take things slowly?"

Understanding, he grinned and hugged her. "We can sleep and leave it at that for now. I won't cross lines without asking," he explained.

"What do you suggest then?" she asked as they stood.

He had found her a nightshirt and they spent the night cuddled together in his bunk, simply sleeping. Roslin opened her eyes first and stretched. The motion woke Adama. "Good morning," his voice was more gravely than usual.

She grinned at him. "Good morning."

"One of us does have to move, you know," teased.

Roslin moved so that she and Adama were both sitting on the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry your birthday didn't turn out like I planned," she commented.

To her surprise he leaned toward her and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm not. Thank you for the best birthday I've had in a long time," he conveyed with a grin.

"You're welcome," she stated giggling.

He let her have the shower first and then they reconvened in the living room after he had showered. "We need to explain how you're here, and why you're wearing yesterday's clothes, he reminded.

She crossed her knees and folded her hands. "I spent the night in the guest quarters because it was too late to return to my ship, of course. Then I stopped here for coffee on the way back to my ship."

"And how were your accommodations, Madame President?" he inquired, playing along.

"Very good, thank you, Admiral," she responded politely.

They chuckled at their ruse. Then she watched him with amusement as mischief crept into his smoky blue eyes. "I have an idea," he began as he leaned toward her and whispered a plan into her ear.

After he had spoken, she pulled back and raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to subject yourself to what will follow that?"

"I've realized that it'll be worth it to see Saul's face," he told her.

She stood. "Well, I suppose I should be going."

"Why? You came by for coffee and then I offered to walk you back to your ship," he added, also standing.

They stepped closer to each other and he wrapped one arm around her waist. The other hand cupped her cheek. Her arms found their usual spot behind his neck. "I like that idea," she murmured before he kissed her soundly.

After he had taken her back to her ship, Adama headed over to CIC. When the phone rang later, picked it up, grinning inwardly as Tigh and Lee picked up the other two headsets. "Hello Madame President, what can I do for you?" he stated politely.

She chuckled deeply on the other end. "Hello Admiral, I was just calling to make sure that our dinner date was still on," she began.

"Of course, Madame President. Was there anything else?" he commented.

That was the line she was waiting for. "I just wanted to say that you were very good last night and I was hoping for an encore." She was thankful that on her end she was alone and could grin as madly as she wanted to.

He fought desperately not to laugh. "I think we can work something out, Madame President. However, we should continue this conversation on a secure line." Tigh dropped his headset and stared at the admiral, his mouth forming a shocked 'o.' The conversation ended and Adama walked over to the window.

Lee joined him and whispered, "Was that a joke?"

Adama grinned wryly. "I'll leave you to figure that one out, son," he remarked. As the younger man resumed his post, he studied his father and realized that he truly did not know whether or not the Old Man was joking.

Fin…………………………………………….

(My thanks to carolann,banana53080, Mariel3, csiAngel, Ethereal Journey, romeoharvey, kiyani, and Jojo for reviewing :D)

(A/N: Do you think that I should include an epilogue, sending them on a date?)


	5. Epilogue

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. Mr. Horrelle is mine.

Epilogue: An exercise in frustration

The date did not take place until a week after Adama's birthday. He and Roslin had finally been able to coordinate their schedules for an evening off. With a few dwindling spices and the ability in his kitchen to fry food, he had succeeded in making the algae into burgers. He had planned to bring dinner to Roslin on Colonial One.

As he arrived, Tory stopped him before he could enter the president's office space. "She's in the middle of a phone conversation with one of the Quorum delegates. I'll let you know when she has finished," the aide explained, returning to Roslin.

Fortunately he was not kept waiting long. He heard her voice as she scolded her aide. "You left him standing outside? Tory, it doesn't matter whether or not I was on the phone. Please tell him he can come in."

Tory reappeared and gestured toward the door. "This way, Admiral."

"Thank you," he stated, following her.

As soon as he had entered the office, Roslin looked at Tory again. "You've got the rest of the evening off. I don't expect to see you again until dawn," she remarked.

The aide left and Roslin strolled over to Adama. He smiled and they shared a few warm kisses. "So how'd your day go?" he asked her.

"The Quorum has decided that my phone line is open twenty-four hours a day. Just because they decided to postpone the meeting until next week, all of them think that they need to talk to me about something," the president admitted.

"Nothing too serious, I hope," Adama responded as they headed back toward her desk. He grinned as he set the plastic container he had been holding on her desk. "I brought food at least."

"Yes, thank you," she told him.

As he began to unpack the food, her phone rang. She had to answer it because Tory had already left. After ten minutes she told the other person that she had to hang up. She turned to her dinner and sighed. "I'm sorry about that. One of the Canceron delegates decided to ask me about something that we've already gone over."

"That's okay. Dinner's still warm," he reassured.

He was correct and they were halfway through their meal when the phone rang again. She rolled her eyes and reached over to answer it. "Excuse me, but could you please call back tomorrow? Mr. Horrelle, I'm in the middle of dinner. I- but they told me that was taken care of! We can still take care of it tomorrow- it's getting late, Mr. Horrelle, have a good evening," she finally hung up.

Dinner was finished in an uneasy silence. One would glance over at the phone every few minutes. As they finished, Adama finally spoke. "Why don't we have desert on Galactica? My quarters are more private than yours," he pointed out.

"It's fine with me. At this point I'll do anything to escape the phone," she admitted with a grin.

They took the raptor back to _Galactica_ and headed for his quarters. Lee stopped them before they could enter the hatch. "Sir, I don't mean to interrupt, but you wanted my update on the pilots?"

Adama sighed and his son then noticed Roslin. He closed his eyes for a moment, not having realized the situation. The admiral opened his hatch and motioned for both to follow him. Then he faced Lee. "Can it wait until tomorrow?"

Lee nodded. "Yes sir. I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you two were- I'll be going now," he finished before departing.

"More private than my ship, huh? We'll see," she goaded the admiral.

For desert he had melted some of the chocolate he had received for his birthday over frozen fruit that had been in his freezer. They sat on his couch, each with a small dish and a spoon in their hands. She slid her shoes off and tucked her feet up. "This is really good," she conveyed.

"Thank you. Finding anything at all in my freezer was pure luck. What I'd really like to find-" someone was knocking on his door. "I'll be right back," he stated as he stood.

He opened the door to Tigh. "Saul, was there something important you needed?" he asked gruffly.

At first Tigh furrowed his brow, feeling offended. "No Bill, I was just gonna…" he trailed off when he spotted Roslin. A slow grin crept over his face. "I'll tell everybody not to bother you. Are you taking my advice?"

"Yes. And we've been trying to find some privacy all evening," he relayed.

Tigh left and Adama went back to Roslin. "On one evening that both of us decide to take off, the whole universe decides to bother us," he grumbled.

"Is there somewhere we can go that people won't notice us at?" she inquired.

He thought for a while and then remembered a conversation he had heard in passing two lieutenants earlier that day. "They're playing a movie in the observation lounge. It'll be dark and no one will notice if we drop in for a while," Adama suggested.

Roslin thought for a moment and then smiled. "Let's give it a try."

The observation lounge was dark as they passed through the door and over to the third row from the top, on the far end so that they were not easily spotted. "What movie did you say this was?" she questioned.

"It's an old one, sort of a blending of horror and science fiction. I don't remember the name of it, but I think someone goes into a cave and finds a way to revive a mummified Geminon mummy. The mummy ends up terrorizing people as some sort of zombie and it's up to the main character and his secretary to save the world," Adama explained.

Roslin chuckled quietly. "How old were you when you watched this?" she probed.

"I think I was ten. My cousins forced me to watch it with them. At the time I found it entertaining," he replied with a smirk.

She looked down at the other people, almost filling the seats in the room, staring up at the white sheets sewn together to make a movie screen, all sitting in pairs. "If it's the type of movie you've described, why are there so many people in here?" she inquired.

He smirked again and pointed out Tory and Gaeta sitting down in the front row. "People sometimes come here to enjoy a moment with significant others without being disturbed," he explained as delicately as possible.

Glancing over at her aide, she gasped. "Good grief, I didn't know they were actually seeing each other. If she finds us here, she'll think we dropped by as chaperones."

"They won't have to know we're here," he reminded with a wry grin. As the movie started, he slowly stretched out his arm so that it ended up resting across her shoulders. She moved closer and leaned into him.

After a while, she noticed that lack of interest that other couples were giving the movie. "Bill, why is this the observation lounge if no one is observing anything?"

"Because on a Battlestar, a sense of humor is mandatory," he remarked.

They watched the movie for another fifteen minutes until she spoke again. "You do realize that this movie is terrible, don't you?" she whispered.

He chuckled quietly. "We didn't exactly come equipped with a Caprican cinema."

She turned to him so that she could see his face. "And nobody knows we're here," they were almost nose to nose.

Closing the short distance between them, he kissed her lightly. "Why do you think I suggested this?"

"Bill Adama… you are one… very… sneaky… man," she relayed as they shared tender kisses. There were as much in each other's arms as the seats would allow. He kissed her soundly and she ran her fingers through his hair.

They were perfectly content to sit there kissing passionately until the door opened and someone shined a bright flashlight into the room. Quickly separating, both squinted at who had just entered. "Sorry to interrupt, but we're looking for the admiral. CIC is having some problems," Dee mentioned.

Adama swore under his breath and stood, offering a hand to Roslin. As the two left, the president distinctly heard Tory say, "Good god, she thought I needed a chaperone."

Out in the light of the hall, Roslin caught Adama's eye and ran her finger over her lips again. He wiped the lipstick off his face before Dee noticed. The petty officer turned toward the two. "Sorry about that sir, but you're needed in CIC."

"Can't I have one evening with out interruptions?" he complained to Roslin, who gave him a sympathetic smile and shrugged.

When they reached CIC, Tigh turned and eyed them with surprise. "Alright Saul, what's going on?" Adama questioned.

Tigh looked over at Dee. "You didn't need to find him. Apollo would've been fine. They're on a frakking date!" he scolded.

Dee looked back at the president and the admiral as she blushed slightly. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't realize-"

"I'm down here now, so what's the problem?" Adama continued.

Tigh showed him a planet on the viewscreen. It was an ocean-based planet with green-brown landmasses. "We scanned it and the planet looks like it might have real food. It's unoccupied and might be worth sending someone down to take a look."

"Go ahead and send Athena and Helo down, and tell them to be on the lookout. There's no telling what's actually down there," the admiral suggested. "Is there anything else?"

"Nope, so you two don't have to stick around," Tigh relayed.

Adama and Roslin left, heading back through the corridors. "It's unbelievable how popular we are tonight," she commented incredulously.

"Perhaps the next time we try this, we should pick the middle of a Cylon battle and everyone would be too busy to bother us," he joked.

After walking for a while with her arm linked with his, she slowed her pace. "I have an idea. It could be late enough by now that no one would call _Colonial One_ anymore."

"Then we'll go back," he commented.

They sat comfortably in the raptor as it began its departure. However, as they continued their short trek, Adama realized something that had been overlooked. "Laura, we've got a small problem," he began.

She raised an eyebrow and glanced at the glowing instruments. "Which is?"

He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. "We're out of fuel."

"With the momentum, can't we just drift over to my ship?" she inquired.

"It would be too hard to dock correctly. Saul's never gonna let this one go," Adama grumbled. Glad that the equipment still functioned, he called _Galactica_.

"This is Galactica. What's going on, Bill?" Tigh's voice asked.

"The raptor we're in has run out of fuel," Adama replied flatly.

"We'll get someone to tow you in. Who's 'we'?"

"The president and myself," he admitted.

The admiral could hear his XO chuckling on the other end of the line. "Bill, when I told you to take my advice, that wasn't what I meant."

"Just bring us back to _Galactica_ please," Adama requested.

As the conversation ended, he turned back to Roslin, who had moved up to where he was seated. "I'm sorry about all this."

She smirked. "I'm not. For however brief it is, we are finally alone," she reminded before sitting on his lap. His arms slid around her to hold her in place as she leaned toward him and kissed him affectionately. Then he trailed light kisses down her neck.

They kissed until the COMM interrupted them. Roslin moved back to her seat while Adama listened to it. "Starbuck here, sir. I'll be bringing you back," the transmission relayed.

"Thank you. We'll see you shortly then," Adama answered.

After the raptor had once again docked on Galactica, Adama helped Roslin down the steps to meet Kara. "Thanks, Kara."

The blonde woman grinned back. "Any time, sir." Then she glanced at Adama's face. "Sir, one more thing. It's really not your color," she stated, moving her hand across her lips before leaving.

He did not have to be told that he had lipstick on his face again. After wiping it off, he turned back to Roslin. "We need to find you some lipstick that actually stays on you, instead of coming off on everyone else."

She giggled and took his arm. "Unfortunately I haven't seen a store in a very long time. I suppose I'm in the guest quarters tonight."

They began walking toward his quarters. "Will you join me for a drink first?" he offered.

"Sure. We could both use one," she responded with a smirk.

As they sat on the couch with drinks in hand and the door locked, he spoke. "At least the Cylons haven't bothered us."

She smiled. "Thank goodness for small mercies. I've been thinking," she paused and faced him, taking another sip of her drink, "When you and I have a meeting, we aren't interrupted nearly as much as we were this evening. Perhaps for the next date if we schedule it as a meeting, we won't be disturbed."

"I like that idea. It's either that or we bring a picnic dinner onto a raptor and I'd really rather that they didn't have to track us down on own of those again," he admitted.

"It really wasn't so bad. Kara should've taken her time," Roslin stated as she giggled and removed her jacket, sitting it on the arm of the couch. Then she set her drink down and began rubbing her neck. "It has been a long day though."

He set his drink down on the table and began gently massaging her neck. She sighed in contentment as his hands moved back and forth over her neck and shoulders. "Mm, that feels wonderful. Who taught you how to do that?" she inquired.

"There are a few things that come naturally to me," he replied chuckling.

"Fine, don't give away your secrets. I may enlist you to do this more often though," she mentioned wryly.

He realized that her hair smelled like magnolias as he pushed it aside. "I might just volunteer."

When he began kissing her neck, she shivered slightly. "But this is even better," she remarked, turning her head to give him better access.

Then she turned and they kissed soundly. He slid his arms around her waist and she rested her hands on his shoulders. He deepened the kiss and she pulled him closer. She began to play with the buttons on his jacket, undoing the first few. They broke for air and rested their foreheads together.

"Something tells me that the guest quarters weren't what you had in mind," he teased in a gravely tone.

She kissed him passionately, managing to unbutton the rest of his jacket. "I've got a much better idea."

His lips caressed her neck and her collarbone. "And what would that be?"

One of her hands fingered his hair. "Another slumber party of sorts, but with a few improvements," she conveyed coyly.

The carpet was strewn with clothing between the living room and his bedroom. He woke and kissed her forehead to wake her as well. "Good morning," she mumbled.

He smiled back. "Good morning."

His alarm clock sounded off as she yawned and stretched. "I suppose that means we actually have to get up," she remarked.

Chuckling, he kissed her softly. "I'm not sure how we're going to explain your presence here again, considering that it was too late last night to figure out guest quarters. Last week wasn't as much of a problem, but explaining it twice might be tricky."

"You let me use your bed and you slept on the couch," she decided, leaving the warmth of the bed to find her clothing and head for the shower.

He smiled and shook his head, trying to decide if that excuse was even plausible. After their showers, they met in his living room. "I suppose it's time that I took you back to your ship," he stated with a sigh.

She groaned. "I wish that I didn't have to go back. I'm sure Tory will have a few choice words for me after last night."

"I wish that you didn't have to go either," he added.

"One of these days we won't have to make up excuses," she commented, holding onto his arm.

He patted her hand and kissed her cheek before they left his quarters. "One of these days I might end up marrying you to keep you on _Galactica_," he told her with a grin.

A rosy blush spread across her cheeks. "Perhaps, one of these days," she remarked with a smirk.

Fin………………………………….. (really)

(This is really the end. My thanks to carolann, kiyani, asouldreams, Jojo, csiAngel, Mariel3, Wander009, banana53080, and Ethereal Journey for reviewing :D. It has been greatly appreciated).


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